A tiny juvenile Variable Ground Snake is found under a rock in Imperial County.

Similar Snakes

Comparison chart of the 3 subspecies of Chionactis in California, along with the similar sympatric species - Sonora semiannulata, and the similar possibly sympatric species - Chilomeniscus stramineus.

A plain-colored Variable Ground Snake with black on the head is sometimes confused with a Smith's Black-headed Snake - Tantilla hobartsmithi, but the ground snake has a loreal scale, which is not present in Tantilla, and lacks the red coloring on the belly that is found on the black-headed snake.

Underside of Variable Groundsnake

Underside of Smith's
Black-headed Snake

Underside of Shovel-nosed Snake

Description

Not Dangerous (Non-poisonous) - This snake does not have venom that is dangerous to most humans.

There are shallow grooves on the outer sides of the rear teeth which indicates that this snake may produce a mild venom, but it is not dangerous to humans.

A small snake with a round body, smooth glossy scales, and a head barely wider than the neck.

Color and Pattern

Variable in color and pattern - this snake may be banded, striped, or solid in color.
Often several colors and patterns are found in the same location.

Some examples of colors and patterns are:
banded with black and gray or yellowish with or without reddish saddles along the back on the light bands;
solid grayish with a darker head;
banded with orange or red and black;
banded with pink and gray;
reddish-orange above with gray sides; and
gray with a thin orange stripe along the back.

The underside can be whitish or yellowish with or without dark crossbands.

Life History and Behavior

Activity

Secretive but not uncommon.
Terrestrial, remaining underground in the daytime, surfacing at night or during heavy rains.
Sometimes seen on roads at night, often discovered beneath surface debris, especially rocks.

In California, occurs from eastern San Diego county east to the Colorado River, north into the Mojave Desert as far west as 29 palms and Barstow, and north along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Nevada, and farther north in Lassen County. (The first record from Northeastern California and from Honey Lake Basin in Lassen County was described in Herpetological Review 38(4), 2007, and can be seen in the above photo by Loren Prins, who made the discovery.)

Outside California, the species ranges north into Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, extreme southeast Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas, and south into Mexico, including much of Baja California.

(Several subspecies are sometimes recognized, but I don't know their exact ranges outside of California.)